Simplero vs Searchie
When it comes to building and scaling your online business, the tools you choose can make ALL the difference. But there are quite a few out there, which makes it a challenge to select the right one for your needs. In this article, we'll compare Simplero vs Searchie, two popular platforms designed to support online coaches, course creators, and membership site owners.
Which one will come out on top? Keep reading to find out!
Simplero vs Searchie
If you want to streamline your operations while delivering high-quality content and services, both Simplero and Searchie offer a myriad of features designed to help you do so. But how do you know which is right for your specific use case?
In this comprehensive comparison, we'll dissect these two platforms to identify which may serve as the better partner for YOUR unique business needs.
As we dive into our analysis of these platforms, our goal is to stay mindful of the nuanced requirements of different business models. So, whether you are a solopreneur just starting or an established business owner looking to optimise, this guide will equip you with the knowledge to make an informed decision.
Let's get into it.
Course Creation, Membership Sites & Hosting
Regarding course creation and media hosting, both Simplero and Searchie have dedicated tools to help you deliver content to your audience. Let's look at how they differ.
Simplero Content Features
Content Hosting
Easily upload videos, audio files, PDFs, and any other content type without worrying about hosting or streaming issues. Everything is natively housed in Simplero's included media library so there are no integration headaches or connection issues when displaying content to your users. All Simplero plans offer a generous amount of storage space, ranging from 250 GB to unlimited.
Course Features
Robust course creation tools allow you to build and manage your entire online course catalogue inside Simplero. You can create Modules with any number of included Lessons or offer Lessons without the Module structure - your choice.
Within each Lesson, just select the content from your Media Library (audio, video, PDF, or any other type of content). Then embed or write your content in the full-featured text editor.
Plus, you can:
- Create quizzes and worksheets using Simplero's built-in tools
- Allow users to consume the lessons as a podcast (or not)
- Control whether content can be downloaded or not
- Create customised access settings by course, module or lesson
- Automatically generate a certificate of completion at the end of a course
Once you have all your Lessons laid out, you can easily drag and drop to rearrange the presentation order or move them between Modules. It's also simple to duplicate or move lessons/modules to other courses for easy content repurposing.
Searchie Content Features
Content Hosting
Searchie's offers an enticing proposition - to automatically collect all the content you've already created around the web and easily import it into your Searchie account. Pretty exciting, right?
To facilitate this, Searchie offers a variety of integrations including DropBox, Facebook, Google Drive, YouTube and others. It also offers automatic transcription and captions for your videos and audio, as well as AI-generated chapter creation, headlines, and summaries.
The amount of content you can upload to Searchie is measured by hours instead of file size, with options from 0 to 500+ hours, depending on the plan you choose. How text-based uploads are measured is unclear.
Course Features
Searchie focuses on video and audio content, offering tools to help you organise and deliver your courses. This platform’s strength is in its search capabilities, allowing users to find specific topics within your content quickly. This is particularly useful for extensive courses where users may want to revisit specific lectures or sections.
When it comes to building the actual courses, you can choose a template from their library and customise it. Note that at the time of this writing, most (if not all) of the templates appear to be video-centric, assuming that all or most lessons will be presented in video form.
Membership Sites & Websites
Building a community or brand hub through membership sites and websites is a key facet of many online businesses. Let's see how Simplero and Searchie support this.
Simplero Membership Sites
With Simplero, you can create diverse membership tiers, each with its own content, pricing, and access permissions. The platform also allows you to build a fully functional website, complete with customisable design options and user-friendly navigation.
One of the best things about Simplero is its robust Membership sites feature. Create different membership sites to house your courses, complete with customised branding, access and a variety of optional features.
- Customised URL, branding and access settings
- Community features (member profiles, directory, member-to-member chat, etc.)
- Blog, forum, and groups
- And more
Plus, here's something that makes the membership feature truly extra - you can also use it to create additional websites! So if you have multiple businesses (or for any other reason), you can build several different stand-alone websites, each with its own branding scheme, custom URL and more.
Searchie Membership Sites
Hubs are Searchie's version of membership sites. The Hub is where you will host your course(s). Depending on your Searchie plan, you may have 1, 3 or 10 Hubs. Custom domains can be directed to your Hubs (as long as you have the Start plan or higher). It is unclear whether these Hubs can be used as full-fledged websites or not.
Instead of a traditional membership site, Searchie's Hubs focus on content searchability and sharing. This enables community-building by allowing members to engage with course content and discussions. It provides a dedicated space for your community to discuss course content, offer support, and share insights.
Marketing & Lead Generation
Engaging with your audience and converting leads is crucial for any online business. Let's explore how Simplero and Searchie compare when it comes to marketing and lead generation.
Simplero's Marketing Toolbox
Simplero is more than just a content delivery platform. It offers a robust suite of marketing tools, including:
- CRM
- Email lists, campaigns & broadcasts
- Native sales/landing and opt-in pages
- Forms (opt-in + other types)
- Automations
- Even the ability to create an affiliate program for your business
Easily create sales and opt-in pages right inside Simplero, and build out the rest of the funnel with native purchasing and email marketing.
Once in your system, use the native CRM system to segment your audience based on interactions and interests, tailoring your marketing efforts for maximum effectiveness.
Then build relationships with your audience with Simplero's easy-to-manage email marketing and flexible automation tools.
Never worry about your lead gen funnels breaking because of integration issues again, because the steps work together perfectly when they're all part of the same system.
Simplero Marketing Automation
Perhaps the most powerful function of the Simplero platform is its flexible, native automation engine. This tool allows you to create automations from almost anywhere - emails, lists, course lessons, products/sales, etc.
Using Triggers, you can automatically:
- Add interest (or other) tags to contacts
- Send emails at strategic moments
- Start or stop automations
- Subscribe or unsubscribe contacts to/from lists
- Add or remove products
- Add or remove membership site or course access
- Create deals in the pipeline (Skyrocket plan only)
- Manage event registration
- And more
We love Simplero's automation engine for streamlining tons of time-consuming, repetitive tasks with no external Zapier integration required (although they do make that easy if you ever need it).
Searchie's Marketing Capabilities
Searchie provides integrations with marketing platforms, allowing you to connect with your audience through various channels.
Their suggested integration is ConvertKit which can be used to create landing pages, house your contact database and email marketing features. Because of the integration, applicable details will be transferred to your Searchie account as well.
Sales
Now it's time to take a side-by-side look at how Simplero's comprehensive sales features stack up against the capabilities of Searchie to give you a clearer picture of which platform might best serve your needs.
Simplero Payments & Subscriptions
Subscriptions are the bread and butter of many online business models, and Simplero has you covered with tools to help you create and manage both simple payments and recurring subscriptions for multiple products.
Simplero's payment processor integrates with several popular systems, including Stripe, PayPal, EasyPayDirect, QuickPay and a long list of others. You can even set up manual payments such as wire transfers, cash, money orders, Venmo, etc. (just remember these can't be tracked in the system automatically).
Once you set up your payment processor(s) of choice, you can easily create customised products to sell online, whether they are digital downloads, services, bundles, one-time purchases or recurring subscriptions.
And you can easily manage each one by:
- Attaching tags for organisation
- Attaching internal or external sales pages
- Setting multiple price options
- Automatically expiring prices
And lots more. This powerful products and payments function is wonderfully comprehensive and flexible.
(Note that as of this writing, Simplero is not set up to manage shipping, so selling physical items through the system can be challenging.)
One downside here is that there is no direct accounting software integration available in Simplero. However, it is possible by using a tool like Zapier or Make.
Searchie Sales & Payments
At this time, Searchie's only integrated payment processing option is Stripe, although they do offer a Zapier integration which potentially can be used with other processors.
With this setup, you create your products and prices in Stripe and then create a sales page in Searchie showing those products for sale. You can also make your Stripe Customer Portal available to customers inside your Hubs so they can view their payment plan, cancel a plan, change payment methods, adjust billing and email addresses or view past invoices.
Searchie also appears to lack a direct accounting software integration, although their Zapier integration may make it possible.
Platform Support
The support provided can be a critical element when beginning your journey with any new platform. Let's compare Simplero and Searchie in this area.
Simplero Support System
We have found Simplero's support team to be consistently responsive and helpful, with prompt and truly helpful replies. Live chat is available inside the platform, and they have a comprehensive library of tutorial articles and videos.
Searchie's Support System
Searchie offers an automated support chat function inside the platform and a library of support documents. However, we don't have experience with the actual usage of these resources to compare to Simplero.
Pricing Comparison
Finally, let's compare the pricing models of both to see which may align with your business's financial strategy.
Simplero Pricing
Simplero operates on a monthly subscription model, with pricing tiers determined by the features you need and the size of your business. The platform also offers a 14-day free trial to explore the features before committing. Currently, plans begin at $59 per month.
Additionally, they offer a couple of ways to fine-tune your pricing, such as choosing between a monthly or annual subscription or increasing/decreasing storage/contact limits.
As Certified Simplero Experts, you can use our link to get an extended 30 DAY FREE TRIAL of Simplero.
Searchie Pricing
Searchie follows a similar subscription model, with pricing plans depending on the number of hours you need to host. The platform also provides a 14-day free trial, enabling you to test some of its capabilities with your existing content. Currently, plans begin at $41 per month.
(Note that they do offer a $7 per month plan, but you cannot create any Hubs or use a custom domain, so it's not a true business account. )
Pros & Cons of Simplero vs Searchie
Let's break down their strengths and limitations to get a full picture of what each platform offers.
Simplero Advantages
- Comprehensive all-in-one platform with CRM, marketing, course creation, membership site tools and more
- Full-featured payment and subscription capabilities
- Flexible pricing based on feature set and business size
- World-class support experience
- Active community and documentation to support users
Simplero Drawbacks
- Some users may find the abundance of features overwhelming
- No direct integration with accounting software
Searchie Benefits
- Cutting-edge search functionality for rapid content retrieval
- Specialised focus on video and audio content
- Community features to facilitate engagement and discussion
- A simple interface that may be more approachable for new users
Searchie Downsides
- Limited customisation options for course creation
- May require additional integrations for a robust marketing strategy
- More of a course hosting platform than a true all-in-one business management tool
Bottom Line: Simplero vs Searchie
Both Simplero and Searchie excel in serving the needs of online course creators and digital entrepreneurs. While Simplero offers a complete suite of business tools, Searchie differentiates itself with a laser-like focus on content searchability and community engagement.
See the full list of Simplero Features.
See the full list of Searchie Features.
What We Recommend - Simplero
For those seeking a platform that can holistically manage their online business – from course creation to marketing automation – Simplero is our top choice. Its extensive feature set and ongoing commitment to user support make it a robust choice for both new and established online businesses.
Despite the allure of specialised features that Searchie offers, the comprehensive nature of Simplero's platform ensures that all aspects of your digital enterprise are handled under one roof efficiently. The ability to scale alongside your growing business further solidifies Simplero as the go-to solution for ambitious online entrepreneurs.
In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the tools you choose hold the power to propel your business forward. As you contemplate your next move, consider the full spectrum of what Simplero and Searchie can offer. Whether optimising your existing processes or starting from scratch, the right platform is the cornerstone upon which you can build your successful online empire.
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